Difference between ‘in the night’ and ‘at night’

Ever been in a situation where both ‘in the night’ and ‘at night’ seemed correct but you knew only one of them was appropriate? Or you knew which of them to use but couldn’t say why? Well, we’ve all been there at some point.

For the record, ‘night’ in this context is the dark part of every 24-hour period.

Now, this is the simple answer we’ve tried to figure out:

In the night

We use ‘in the night’ when we refer to a particular point during the night—a short time, not throughout the night.